Sunday, February 14, 2010

Disease of More

Cyclist are commonly afflicted with the disease of more. While for most cyclist it is the desire for more new toys; for racers it is true to an even greater extent when it comes to training. If a racer finishes second usually the first thought is "if I trained more then I would be first". If a racer is unable to go with a break then it is "if I did more intervals I would be able to go with that move". If a racer has dead legs and falls off the back it is "if I did more long easy rides and had a good base my legs wouldn't be dead".

I have to admit I'm as afflicted as the next racer. My success in sports has always been my willingness to out work and out prepare my opponent versus pure natural ability. As I've moved up in cycling, it's harder because the distances are longer and the competition is tougher but the amount of time and energy that I have to train while balancing work and home stays the same. Recently as I transitioned from cross to road, I was especially symptomatic until the wiser, more experienced (read "older") racers on my team told me that more training wasn't the answer. As obvious as it may seem to the rest of the world; I, like most cyclist, couldn't admit that maybe my body needed rest. What a novel idea!!!

Now I've completed almost 2 weeks of rest. I've commuted 3 times and other then that haven't been on a bike. I know the rest was seriously needed because I haven't been jonesing for the bike which typically starts after 2-3 days away. Also, I've decided to get smarter about how I train and go for more quality over quantity. To do that I made the hard decision to sell one of my favorite toys, my Garmin Edge 705, and bought a used PowerTap. Training with power is a new venture for me but I'm excited about the potential and possibilities it brings. "More" to come...........